The Things You Learn at Night
by watched 2 much tv
Summary: Roommates are usually friends. Or a friend of a friend. Sometimes they're complete strangers you found online. Sometimes they're the new girl. Pre-series.


I was listening to the Phil Philip's song "Home" when I thought of this. This isn't a song fic, but it's a good song, so you should listen to it anyway. I really like the friendship between Severide and Shay (and if she weren't gay, I'd probably be shipping them by now). I'm placing my bet that they might be cousins or something, but I really want to know how they ended up living together. You might have to suspend some belief while reading this because I don't know how to play poker, don't know which are Chicago's shady neighborhoods, or how much cigarettes cost. Sorry, Also, can someone _please _write me some Dawson/Casey fics? I'm seriously dying here. Enjoy the story.

_November 2009_

The station was unusually idle, but everyone was glad that they could just spend some time relaxed. Darden, Casey, and Severide were more than happy to spend their time sitting in the kitchen playing cards.

"So what do you think of the new girl?" asked Darden, looking from his cards to Severide, trying to read his friend's pokerface.

"She seems a little out of it," Severide said, leaning past Casey to grab the bag of chips.

Casey's eyes shot towards Severide's cards, but all he caught was a glimpse of an ace.

"It's never good to be distracted in jobs like these. She isn't gonna last very long if she doesn't get her head in the game. What was her name again?" Darden said, rubbing his neck as he looked fruitlessly at his cards. Casey looked from at his own cards and then leaned slightly right to look at Darden's.

"Her name's Leslie Shay and all I meant was that she looks like she has other stuff on her mind. Maybe she's having some kinda problem with her family or a guy or something. Or maybe she's just trying to get used to it here. She's only been working here a week, she probably isn't comfortable with all of us yet," defended Severide.

Casey put his cards down. "Dawson seems to like her. Says that Shay's from out of town, but she was an EMT back home, too."

"We should invite her to come the next time we all go out," Darden said on his way to the refrigerator.

"Yeah," Severide nodded absentmindedly while staring at the blonde woman sitting alone on the opposite end of the room.

* * *

Kelly Severide couldn't sleep. He liked the night, especially at this time of year. The sting of the cold air made him feel awake. He had driven across town and then decided to do for a walk. Before he knew it, he had ended up in Washington Park.

He noticed a familiar blonde walking on the other side of the street. This wasn't the kind of place she should be walking around alone at this time of night. Severide crossed the street and went up to her.

She jumped slightly when he came up to her. "Hi," he said casually.

"Oh, uh, hi," she said, still slightly nervous.

"You know, this isn't the kinda place you should be hanging around alone. Where are you headed?" Severide asked.

"I was just going home." Shay began to walk away.

Severide followed. "I'll walk you."

"Oh, no. It's fine," Shay said hastily.

"I want to. I'd feel better if I did," he pushed.

Shay hesitated and looked down.

"Okay," she said.

"So, you live around here, huh?" Severide went on.

They turned a corner and she said, "Yeah, for now."

"It's not exactly the safest place to live. Or even walk through," he pointed out, looking at her.

"Well, you're walking around here, aren't you?" Shay replied.

"Yeah, but I'm half a foot taller than you and a good fifty pounds heavier. And I'm not walking around with a giant-ass bag," Severide said. "What could you possibly have in there anyway?"

Shay didn't respond. They walked in silence for another several blocks until she stopped in front of an old building and awkwardly said, "Well, this is it. Thanks for walking me here."

"No problem. Have a nice night," he said as Shay turned around and walk inside.

* * *

"I'll just wait five minutes until he's away from here and then, I'll go," she thought.

* * *

Severide walked across the empty street to the deli. He grabbed a pack of cigarettes and made his way to the counter.

"What's she doing living in a place like this? Even if she signed the lease before she moved here, she could at least have the common sense to not walk around in the middle of the night with a big ass bag just looking to get mugged," he thought.

"That'll be seven dollars," the cashier said.

Severide handed him the money and pulled out a cigarette on his way to the door.

* * *

"He's gotta be gone by now," Shay thought and she walked out. She did a quick look around the street and when she didn't see him there, she started to walk.

* * *

He stopped for a minute to light the cigarette before walking out. He saw Shay walking down the street, obviously oblivious of him.

"Where the hell is she going?" Severide wondered.

He walked across the street and quickly caught up with her.

"So where exactly are we headed to now?" he asked from behind her.

Shay jumped and turned around. "Oh my God, Severide. You scared me," she said, clutching her chest.

"Yeah, well, you're just lucky it was me and not some perv or psycho. Now, what are you doing back out here?" he asked.

"It doesn't matter," she said in a low voice, hoping he would accept that answer and leave her alone. When he didn't, she snapped, "Look, it's none of your business."

"I'm about to make it my business," he snapped back. They were silent for a minute before he spoke again. "Look, the building you just came out of is clearly not where you live or else you wouldn't have walked back out. So where do you actually live?"

Shay stayed silent, not looking Severide in the eyes.

"I'm not leaving until I get an answer." Silence. "I'm not gonna tell anyone else."

Shay was silent for another minute. She sighed and finally said, "The homeless shelter. On the next block."

"Shit," he thought. "I guess that explains her strange behavior."

Shay turned to walk away. She spoke quickly, "Look, I never should have told you. Please don't tell anyone else. I'm just gonna go -"

"You can stay with me," he interrupted quickly.

She turned back around, but didn't meet his eyes. "I'm gay."

"I wasn't- That's- I," he stuttered, trying to fine the right way to respond. "I didn't mean it like that. I'm just offering a place to stay. I'm not asking for anything in return."

"Umm, thank you. But really, it's fine. I'll be fine," Shay said. She still wouldn't look up at him.

"I know we don't know each other well. Everyone at the station is like family. You've only been here for a little while, but if you stick around, you're gonna be like family, too. I'm not making this offer because I want to get in your pants or because I pity you or whatever. If I end up making you uncomfortable or you don't feel safe, you can go, but I think you're gonna feel better at my place than you would at the shelter." He put his hand on her shoulder and when she looked him in the eyes, Severide noticed that their were tears in hers.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

"No problem. Here let me get the bag," he said. Shay handed it to him. "I went for a drive and then I went for a walk, so my car is kinda far from here," Severide said apologetically.

Shay just nodded.

* * *

The rest of the trip to Severide's apartment was silent. Shay didn't speak and Severide didn't want to push her or upset her.

He wasn't in the mood for speaking much either. His head was filled with questions. How long exactly had she been in Chicago? Had she been in the shelter to whole time? Nothing bad had happened to her in the shelter or in the neighborhood, right? Was she living in a shelter before she moved her? Why was she in shelter anyway? Did someone kick her out because she's gay? Is she actually gay, or did she just say that to keep me from thinking I had any chance with her?

But of course, he didn't ask any of them. In part because he didn't want to alienate her or send her running away and in part because he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answers.

* * *

Severide pulled in to an empty parking space down the block from his building. He looked over at Shay who had fallen asleep some time ago. He lightly shook her shoulder. "Hey, we're here."

She sat up groggily and they both got out of the car. Severide opened the trunk and Shay pulled out her bag while he pulled out a few bags of tools.

"The drain in the sink has been acting up and there's a mouse on the loose. Sorry. The landlord will take his sweet time to fix them, so I decided to do it myself," he said as they walked to toward the building. She just nodded.

* * *

"So what do you think?" Severide asked after they walked in.

"It sure beats the shelter," Shay said, slightly in awe of the apartment.

"So living room, kitchen, there's bathroom through there, and two bedrooms up those stairs," he said, pointing to each as he mentioned them. "The other bedroom has pretty much been used as storage for awhile. I'll move my stuff out of it this weekend, but for now, you can just take my room. I'll crash on the couch," he said. He started to take the stuff out the bags and put them in their respictive drawes and cabinets.

"Severide, no. I don't want to kick you out of your own bed. I'll take the couch," Shay said sternly.

"You're not forcing me out of my bed. I fall asleep on that couch half the time anyways, so it's no different than what I usually do anyway," he said, as he put the last item away.

"I don't feel right about you sleeping on the couch while I take your bed. I'm the guest. I'll take the couch," Shay argued.

He sighed. "Shay, honestly, I don't mind. It's only a few nights."

"Fine," she conceded.

"You hungry? I'm gonna have a sandwich, but you could have anything out of the fridge," Severide asked walking over to the fridge.

"I'm fine. I just want some sleep," Shay said. "Alright, bathroom's over there," he repeated.

* * *

Shay walked out of the bathroom dressed in flannel pants and an old t-shirt. Slowly, she made her way to the where Severide was sitting in the kitchen.

"Severide?" she asked quietly. "Yeah," he replied, mouth full of roast beef.

"I just wanted to say thanks," Shay said quietly.

He finished chewing and swallowed before speaking. "Not a problem."

"Hey," he added as an afterthought. "Can I ask you a personal question?"

"Um, sure," she said. _I owe him at least an answer. _

"Are you actually gay, or were you just trying to get rid of me?" he asked, before taking another huge bite of his sandwich.

She sighed and looked Severide in the eyes. "I think I'm gay."

"Okay. See ya in the morning." And with that he turned his attention to the television.


End file.
